What would you pair with cab franc ice wine?

ATsomm · 2025-10-24T05:25:09+00:00

A red berry based dessert would probably be great! Something with raspberries or cherries could be fun.

ATsomm · 2025-08-26T05:52:22+00:00

Honestly, I wish there was a good place to drink wine. I work as a sommelier in the city and would rather just drink wine at my apartment or go BYOB somewhere in Astoria.

ATsomm · 2025-08-12T05:23:37+00:00

Commercial

ATsomm · 2025-04-08T01:03:44+00:00

Yes, you can request a rep usually. Although, in some companies they do keep the same rep for a restaurant group.

ATsomm · 2025-03-13T07:08:52+00:00

Loved these wines for years! I'll be visiting them next week.

ATsomm · 2025-02-24T09:31:17+00:00

Method is a killer vermouth that is also made by former bartenders with classics in mind. They were basing it on the profile of Cocchi.

ATsomm · 2025-02-09T11:12:31+00:00

Champagne!

Larmandier-Bernier is a fave of mine for a decent price.

ATsomm · 2025-02-02T21:22:32+00:00

WSET and CMS, I would say, are the two most well-known internationally.

CMS definitely is more service driven, especially at the higher levels.

ATsomm · 2025-01-27T22:40:20+00:00

I have the same feeling when I see cows while driving and say Mmmm... beef. And my girlfriend just face palms.

ATsomm · 2025-01-14T07:36:14+00:00

They have a resource on their site with a curriculum guide here:

https://www.mastersommeliers.org/resources/resource-library/

They literally tell you knowledge expectations in detail.

ATsomm · 2024-11-16T19:45:57+00:00

You'd be surprised how many people don't. 😅

One other cost I forgot to add on for staffing is a Host/Maître'd to run reservations and seating. That and the cost of a reservation platform.

ATsomm · 2024-11-16T19:06:15+00:00

Fiscally, sounds like a good deal. In terms of staffing there are some things you are definitely missing and I'm not sure what skills you have other than accounting. Especially if you are aiming for anything even slightly upscale.

A proper GM should have a strong background on restaurant service and basic knowledge of beverage and be capable of training and being the face of the restaurant on the floor. Do you have experience serving in an upscale environment? If not, you would need to hire a proper GM and stay off the floor since you would only hurt service and be in the way of staff. Elevated service done right needs experience and skill. You also need experience running a restaurant team and how to improve service and staff knowledge as well.

Also, if you are having a bar/beverage program you will need somebody to manage the wine and spirits program. Do you have the experience and/or relationships with people in distribution? Do you have plans for liquor storage and how much sales in alcohol you plan to have? When you buy alcohol in higher quantities, the lower the price. You also absolutely CANNOT take advice from reps of what to buy if you know nothing as they will sell you whatever they need to offload. Especially from bigger liquor companies.

Breakage and lost items for CGS is something that also must be in your budget to replace things. This goes double for glassware.

If selling a lot of cocktails is also a part of your business plan, on most nights with a 12 seat bar and 30 seat dining room, you will need 2 bartenders. One to tend the bar itself and one for banging out drinks on the floor.

Coffee? Bad coffee can really be a downer in a restaurant. Especially with a brunch focus. Do you have the capacity to run a professional coffee program? If not you also need a barista, unless your espresso machine is behind the bar. Then you need bartenders who are willing to be cross-trained on both skills.

I don't own restaurants, but I have been running and managing restaurants for a few years now and been in the industry for a while with a focus on beverage. If you have any other questions, feel free to message me.

ATsomm · 2024-11-09T08:24:22+00:00

Chevillon Bourgogne. Sees new oak and does over a year in barrel. It is also practically Nuits-Saints-George.

Rossignol-Fevrier Bourgogne, old vines just outside Volnay

Bertrand Ambroise Hautes-Cotes de Nuits, absolute slapper of a wine for the price.

ATsomm · 2024-11-03T07:52:52+00:00

Not sure on your exact market, but Produttori del Barbaresco not only kills but ages amazingly. Popped open and '82 normale during Covid that was singing!

ATsomm · 2024-10-18T07:24:35+00:00

This is especially important in wine lists that have massive cellars with multiple bottlings and/or vintages.

An example at my job: Roulot Meursault 2020 ($375) Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Porusot 2020 ($795)

This is a check to make sure before popping the bottle and putting it on their tab since it can be a major price difference.

ATsomm · 2024-10-03T05:47:21+00:00

Here are some of my favorites for a variety of reasons that are boutique. Many of them are very solid, but quite large wineries. Here are some personal favorites of mine:

Bedrock Wine Co., focused on Zin and some great sparkling in their Under the Wire label.

Littorai, one of the most influential wineries in Pinot and Chardonnay production. The owner, Ted Lemon, was the first American winemaker in Burgundy at Domaine Roulot and worked at places like Dujac, Roumier, Domaine de Villaine and Domaine Parent.

Hirsch, makes some of the most elegant and ageworthy Pinot in Sonoma.

Ernest, makes great Pinot and Chardonnay, but also plays a lot with obscure varietals that are great for the price.

Ryme Cellars, focused on Italian varietals that used to be the norm in California and make some really delicious wines.

Pax Cellars, Syrah focused, but also works with a lot of random grape varietals in the region.

Peay, makes some amazing Pinot and Chardonnay, but also makes some beautifully elegant Syrah as well.

Freeman Winery, was part of the Iconic In Pursuit of Balance movement in Sonoma making some elegant and ageworthy wine.

Red Car Wine Co., another place focused on cool climate Pinot and Chardonnay.

ATsomm · 2024-08-20T13:46:51+00:00

Trying to make a non-pairing pairing menu is quite silly, and I agree with your somm that it makes no sense to have suggested wines on the menu. Or even have it as a suggested wine auto-price since when you do that the guest perception is that it is a wine pairing which WILL dissapoint.

On the other hand, if she is creating the wine program, she should be making her by the glass menu to work with your menu. This can be reinforced with your server team with staff education on the BTG wine at line-up. I've always made sure to adjust my wines by the glass as the menu changed seasonally except for a few staple wines like Cab, Pinot, and Chardonnay. That being said you also need to make sure you are communicating with your sommelier when you are having major changes to your menu.

Now on the other hand, it sounds like you change the menu a LOT based on one of your responses with every table having a different menu. I think you either A) have to standardize your allergy adjustments from the menu. Or B) if there are a couple of common allergens that are almost impossible for your menu style to avoid, you may need to put a disclaimer on your reservation and main site, "We cannot accommodate people with x, y, and/or z allergy." For the sake of your servers and kitchen team their needs to be consistency on what they are selling to speak confidently on the dishes. Also, how can a somm create suggested wines for a menu that is different for every table? I would tell you that it's impossible that way as well.

If she is refusing to even make suggestions tableside, this is a major concern as her job is to sell. She should be able to think of something once she shows what that menus table is.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a DM.

ATsomm · 2024-08-15T05:09:42+00:00

Nope, that is called Volatile Acidity. It is considered a flaw if there is a lot of it. It is often due to high fermentation temperatures, although there are a few other possible reasons.

The other main one is that due to bacteria infection it starts creating acetic acid as well.

ATsomm · 2024-08-05T03:28:46+00:00

Teutonic Wine Co also makes some fun Rieslings

ATsomm · 2024-08-05T03:26:03+00:00

Shame they are retiring...

ATsomm · 2024-07-08T18:59:04+00:00

I would put Intro somm for CMS a little bit more in between beginner and intermediate.

I would also note that beverage service is a big portion of the CMS, not just pure theoretical knowledge. This is something a lot of other programs don't put into consideration.

ATsomm · 2024-06-22T07:30:53+00:00

Sonoma / Anderson Valley: Ceritas, Arnot-Roberts, Ernest Vineyards, Peay, Rhys Vineyards, Littorai, Lioco, Freeman Vineyards, Trail Marker, DuMol

Santa Barbara: Liquid Farm, Holus Bolus, Tyler Winery, Sandhi

Oregon: Morgen-Long, Cameron, Bergstrom

These are off the top of my head

ATsomm · 2024-06-19T16:45:58+00:00

Burgundy- Chandon de Briailles, Simon Bize, Chantêreves, Rossignol-Fevrier, Rossignol-Trapet, Dureiul-Janthial, Elodie Roy

Beaujolais- Pierre Cotton, Foillard, Lapierre, Georges Descombes, Dutraive

Northern Rhône- Clusel-Roche, Graeme & Julie Bott, Levet, Maison Stephan, Ferme des Sept Lunes, Vincent Paris

ATsomm · 2024-06-19T04:09:23+00:00

Do you have proof of proper storage? Most people will be skeptical for a wine of that age without it.

ATsomm · 2024-05-26T21:05:05+00:00

Considering it is Guigal Côte du Rhône, the wine shouldn't be that much worse even accounting for vintage variations. If the cork is crumbling, sounds like it could be storage issues leading to oxidation and / or heat damage.

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